We Are God's Works of Art

Here is Beth's devotion for our church for this past Sunday. 

We Are God’s Works of Art

By Beth Stroble

“Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things.  God planned for these good things to be the way we live our lives.” Ephesians 2:10

This verse from Paul’s letter to the church of Ephesus follows his explanation of salvation as gift of God, not the result of human effort or an accomplishment of which we can be proud.  Rather, we should understand ourselves as God’s works of art, created with a purpose—to do good things and for these good things to form the fabric of our lives.

Admittedly it is challenging in these times to see humankind as beautiful, magnificent creations, of the order of the Grand Tetons, the Danube, or the Sahara Desert.  And it is harder still on many days, in the midst of so many threats to life and livelihoods, to describe humanity in our interactions with each other as expressions of God’s creative forces at work in our lives. 

But even as I write these words, I feel the call to live life in creatively Christian ways—to be an agent of the good things that God intended for us.  Thinking about ourselves as creative can be a stumbling block if we think that means that we must be artists to live creatively—sculptors, painters, musicians, poets, dancers. When I was an English teacher helping students become better writers or a teacher educator helping future teachers design more creative instructional plans for their students, I needed to reframe what creativity means.

Living creatively, for me, means trying to be as open-minded as possible in how I approach what is in front of me.  It’s why I have always craved new experiences, including living in new locations and working in many different organizations.  Those experiences have given me assorted ideas to tap—a range of ways of doing things.  Assembling those bits and pieces of what I have gained from others in new and different ways is how I like to think of living creatively.  And the best ideas come from a community—sharing perspectives and strategies for all life’s tasks and problems.  

And, truly, we see expressions of creativity everywhere as we have each adapted to new ways of day-to-day life since mid-March.  More gardens have been planted, more meals have been prepared at home, more rescue pets found their forever homes, different ways of doing work and school were put in place, and old habits of going to places of business almost daily gave way to curbside and front porch deliveries. 

As members of communities, we have used new ways to stay connected with each other, used electronic networks to learn about what is going on around us, ministered to neighbors, raised funds for causes we support, and gathered with each other remotely as family, friends, and congregants. In many ways, the difficulties of these days have necessitated new and different approaches because the tried and true were not practical. For my part, I hope that some of these novel ideas persist even when we can again be in each other’s presence.

I want to find ways to increase my concern for and connections with those I do not regularly see.  I want to grow my empathy for those whose lived experiences are different from my own.  I want to keep reading and learning about global challenges in ways that shape my thinking and actions.  I want to be a catalyst for conversations that create opportunities for change. It is my hope that I will continue to find joy and inspiration in our backyard wildlife, hikes in nature preserves, jigsaw puzzles, imaginative yard signs and Instagram posts, and online music and theatre. 

Most of all, I seek to live a creatively Christian life as described in the words of this hymn, “Colorful Creator” by Carlton Young: 

God of truth and beauty,

Poet of the word.

May we be creators, by the Spirit stirred.

Open to your presence in our joy and strife,

Vessels of the holy, coursing through our lives.

Amen